The "British System" of Heroin Maintenance

Abstract

To the Editor. — The article by Dr. Edward Lewis, Jr., regarding a heroin maintenance program in the United States is an example of a somewhat emotional attempt at objective medical reporting. After seven full days in England and conferences with those dealing with the problem in that country, Dr. Lewis has written an article replete with the author's value judgments and personal opinions, more appropriate for a persuasive speech than an objective scientific report. The main thesis that the problem in Britain is different than in the United States can readily be surmised from the tables presented, but the author's conclusions that such a program would lead to anguish and frustration in this country seem to be based on his feelings—not his findings in London. Nevertheless, if in England as Dr. Lewis states, the increase in the addiction rate has been a tiny fraction of what had been predicted;